Of Liberation and Release
by Ireth Melwasul
Summary: "(...)and of course I love my beautiful self, but I love you more. As a raven I can fly, but as a man I can talk to you, touch you –even if it's the slightest of touches, I can feel you (...)" Maleval. One shot.


Maleficent stared down at Aurora and sighed.

_Aurora._

What a particular name. The birth of the morning, the beginning of a brand new day. The little beastie had come into her life and somehow she had turned her entire world upside down; Aurora had given her the chance to start over. And now, as she wondered how to answer her beastie's question, she embraced the darkness that making the right decision held for her.

Someone as evil as her could only be happy for so long after all.

"Of course I'm happy, Aurora. I have everything I ever wanted" she assured the young girl and tried for a smile, and even though Maleficent was certain her smile had looked like a wild animal showing its teeth to a prey rather than a real smile, Aurora seemed oblivious to that fact.

"Peace? Your wings? A family?" her questions rained down on Maleficent and she could barely think of another answer. Sure, they had peace now that Aurora was queen of both kingdoms, but Maleficent knew deep down that peace could only last for so long, and sooner or later trouble would come knocking at their doors; she tried hard not to think about it, but life had taught her that happy endings didn't exist, they only stayed for a limited amount of time… It was a cycle; the idyll was going to be broken someday.

Her wings, yes, she had them back. She could fly again, navigate the sky whenever she wanted, kiss the clouds if she pleased. The adrenaline that being hundreds of feet above the ground provided drove her crazy, it was a feeling she had once been addicted to and now that she could do it again she felt like she would never stop. Perhaps that was the only thing that would remain no matter what; she could trust her wings, they would never falter.

And a family at last. She had Aurora and Diaval and they were her family, the only one she'd ever known because the memories of her parents were almost completely forgotten. Maleficent loved them both deeply and she couldn't imagine her life without them, but she often did.

Maleficent knew Aurora was growing up, she was twenty years old now and she was also engaged to Prince Philip. Her little beastie was going to become a wife soon and she would start her own family. Even though Maleficent knew Aurora's heart was big enough to always hold a space for her she was very aware that whenever Aurora and Philip decided to get married and have kids, she was going to become some sort of outsider. And then there was _him_. Diaval. She had to talk to him… she should've done it four years ago and she was too afraid to approach him on that specific subject, but Maleficent knew the time had come.

She looked around, up to the sky and then to her hands resting on her lap and clasped together tightly.

"Godmother?" Aurora called "Are you alright? You look gone" she said carefully, choosing her words.

"Gone?" Maleficent inquired.

Aurora nodded, then she dedicated her a gentle smile "yes, you know… You're here but your mind is somewhere else, I dare say something is troubling you"

Maleficent shook her head, searching for the right words to turn her down because she knew Aurora was going to want to talk about it. She was lucky Aurora was ever the perceptive girl she had always been.

"You don't have to talk about it with me, but you should tell him" Aurora suggested.

"How did you…? Maleficent started, looking at the blonde girl with curiosity. Aurora, who had been sitting on the grass just before her, stood up then and placed her hands on Maleficent's shoulders, gripping them softly "I just know, Godmother. I'll be back in a couple days, there are some things I need to take care of, in the meantime, you take care of yours" Aurora had grown bold over the years, perhaps she spent too much time with Diaval; Maleficent didn't know, but as Aurora bid her goodbye she could only watch her walk away and sort of curse her for leaving her with this task.

She couldn't fail Aurora again, so she was now bound to fulfil her duty. Maleficent had to talk to him.

* * *

Maleficent decided she would talk to him in the morning; she had done nothing important that day but talking to Aurora often left her exhausted; besides, Diaval was nowhere to be found. Maleficent gathered he could either be with Philip or flying around… She didn't really know.

They were in the middle of the summer and The Moors tended to get hotter than ever, even at night. She could barely breathe without feeling her clothes sticking to her skin and she utterly _hated _that sensation, it made her feel dirty. Maleficent looked down at her body and decided she was not hot enough to take a bath, and that was something that needed to be fixed. Maleficent flexed her knees and jumped, then she spread her wings and took off to the skies. Most times she liked flying during the day, but doing it in summer sounded hideous, so she did it at night.

The stars looked a thousandth times closer but still so far away, Maleficent wondered if she would ever become one of them. Faeries were immortal, they were never meant to die, but sometimes they tended to fade. When she was little she'd been told they became stardust, or that they simply flew up and up and up… so high into the sky that they never came back down and just transformed into stars, they lived in a different kind of eternity. As she flew through the clouds, Maleficent wondered if stars could feel; she was trying her best but she was still holding some grudges… How she wished she could be a star; then she would shiny enough for _him_.

Against her will her wings grew tired and she was forced to come down, the second her feet touched the grass she felt sweat covering her whole body. She stripped of her clothes, peeling every layer of fabric off her body with patience. When she was totally naked, she walked to the lake and sank into it in an almost childish way. The water was cool enough to soothe her and make her heart rate slow down; she dipped her head under the water and came out while throwing her head back, combing her hair backwards. Maleficent was not vain –Diaval had enough vanity for the both of them–, but she liked the way her wet skin looked when moonlight caressed it.

Then she heard a caw.

The raven landed on a rock in front of her and wiggled his wings, demanding she turned him into a man. Maleficent was deep enough into the water to stop him from seeing her body, but she was still reluctant to do her magic. Seeing her hesitation, Diaval flew to her and began to shake his wings in front of her face. He didn't even touch her, but she knew Diaval was being rude on purpose. It irritated her enough to make her act without thinking and she turned him into a man right there. Diaval fell into the water like a raven and emerged as a man.

_Without clothes, _Maleficent noticed. It wasn't like she hadn't seen him before but there was something different this time, this once she was actually uncomfortable with it.

"Hello, Mistress" he greeted, smirking at her.

_Ugh, there was that awful, awful word again._

"Hello, Diaval" Maleficent responded without emotion, she could hear the ice in her voice. Damn him; couldn't he give her the chance to actually ignore him? To avoid what she had to do for a little bit longer?

Diaval didn't say anything else, he just kept his stare on her eyes and Maleficent knew she couldn't wait until tomorrow. She had to do it now and to worsen everything she was going to have to do it when they were both naked.

"Diaval, there's something I need to talk to you about," every single word that came out of her mouth then felt like poison, they could only get more bitter as she spoke "I should have done this a long time ago, I beg you to forgive me" Maleficent made a pause to take a breath.

"Mistress?" Diaval's smirk disappeared, his playful expression now replaced with a concerned one.

"I release you."

Maleficent said it without preamble, in her mind she was going to say a lot of things to him: how much he meant, how much she regretted enslaving him for so long, what a good friend he'd been to her and many other sweet things… but her nature wasn't sweet, she was cold and liked to go straight to the point; so she followed her instincts and did it.

Looking at Diaval, Maleficent understood what Aurora had meant when she said prior that day that she looked gone. Diaval could be right there with her but his eyes were blank and his mind, well, who knew what he could be thinking? His expression was troubled now.

"What?" was all he managed to say to her.

Maleficent bowed her head down and tried to find her voice. She really didn't want to do it, but it was only fair… it was the right thing to do and she hated it; a part of her wished she could be the villain once again, but it was not in her anymore. She cared too much for him and she had also –if wordlessly, sort of promised Aurora she would take care of whatever was her business.

"Like I said before, I should have done this many years ago, when the curse was broken. Diaval, you saved my life, you've paid your debt. You do not owe me anything, I have my wings back, the curse is broken… It's only just I grant you your freedom, it's about time" Maleficent almost choked on her words.

Much to her surprise, Diaval swam forward and placed his hands on her naked shoulders.

"Why now, Maleficent? Tell me, why didn't you release me before?" his voice was cold and rough; he was losing it and trying to hold back.

_He was angry and she could feel tears welling up in her eyes._

"I've seen the way you look at me, with longing. I tried to ignore it because I'm incredibly selfish and I couldn't let you go, but I know you've been longing for your freedom and I can't do this to you, it is now I the one who owes you something. I owe you your freedom, Diaval and I'm giving it to you now" she didn't even bother to look at him in the eyes as she spoke.

His fingers pressed into her skin then.

"Look at me" Diaval demanded and Maleficent could only do as he wished. Maleficent could see her reflection in his eyes and was taken aback by her sombre expression, she waited for him to say something but he never did and she felt bolder than before, so she kept going "I think I've changed my ways, Diaval. I –I cannot…" she sighed and took her hands out of the water to place them in his jaw, cupping his face "I know how much you love your beautiful self," she smiled "I'll change you back and then you can go. I'm sorry, bird" she said.

Since Diaval seemed reluctant to speak, she removed her right hand from his jaw and was about to flick her wrist and do the magic when suddenly grabbed it, harder than she would've liked but said nothing either way.

"You silly faery," Diaval said and earned a bewildered and almost offended look from her. Maleficent didn't try to let go of his hand and was about to say something when he interrupted her "how could you even…? How is it even possible for you to think that? Oh Maleficent, I do not long for my freedom, I long for you," Diaval then swam away from her, running his hands through his wet feathery hair "and of course I love my beautiful self, but I love you more. As a raven I can fly, but as a man I can talk to you, touch you –even if it's the slightest of touches, I can feel you. When we met you asked me to be your wings and I was fine with it, really; but now you got them back and I don't know how to feel about that" Diaval stopped talking all of a sudden, leaving her even more confused than before.

"Diaval, what are you talking about?" her heart was racing; he just said he loved her but he was angry at the same time. Maleficent was suddenly scared; she had imagined what freeing him would be like in her mind many times, but he never did what he was doing at the moment. He either flew away happily or he flew away mad at her because she'd taken too long to release him. Diaval _never _stayed, he _never_ said he loved her and he _never_ became angry while doing so. This was more than she had bargained for.

"What am I talking about? I don't even know! You don't need me anymore, do you? You have your wings back. I've been _dreading _this day, I've never wanted you to send me away but it is happening and I'm sorry, but I can't handle it. I've spent more than half of my life with you, ravens don't live this much, and I've lived with _you_. I don't know what am I supposed to do without you, I _don't_ want to figure it out. Would you at least let me stay here in The Moors with you, Mistress?" he pleaded.

At his words Maleficent suddenly forgot that they were both naked or she simply stopped caring, either of those were possible; but she reached out for him and enveloped him in her arms, locking her hands behind his neck. Almost immediately she felt Diaval's arms encircling her waist, holding her closer to him. He buried his face in the crook of her neck and then ran one of his hands along her wings; the other never left her waist.

"Oh Diaval… We've both been really stupid then," Maleficent said somewhere between laughing and crying "If it were up to me I would never let you go, and that was my intention… But the look in your eyes was killing me; I would've never guessed it was because you…" she then moved back to look at him in the eyes, there was hesitation inside her and he sensed it.

"Because I love you?" he completed.

Maleficent nodded "I don't deserve it, Diaval. I don't even deserve our beastie's love… I've hurt you both"

"You should know by now that love can heal anything, Maleficent"

Maleficent then leaned forward and kissed the line of his jaw, starting from beneath his ear and moving back until she reached the corner of his mouth, she moved away for a moment and looked at him in the eyes, her hands ran from the back of his neck to the front of his face, she cupped his chin and smiled. Diaval shortened the space between them and kissed her, his hand moved up from her waist and rested on the back of her shoulder –her shoulder blades, to be precise; pushing her closer to him as he kissed her. Maleficent would've never guessed he would be the one in control, but he was; he was the one tugging at her lower lip, begging for entrance and she happily complied. When he slid his tongue inside her mouth she couldn't help but moan in to the kiss.

Her hands had somehow found their way into his hair and she lazily but passionately ran her nails along his scalp, she was barely aware of his own hands that were now cupping her face, keeping her in place as if he were afraid she would fade away.

_And I could… I could definitely fade away right now…_

Maleficent thought blissfully.

Diaval broke away slightly to breathe; Maleficent missed him instantly and dived back into their kiss, this time she got to taste him and relished at the sweet berry flavour his mouth had. It was then, when she pressed her chest harder to his, that she became aware once again of their nakedness and this time it didn't make her uncomfortable, it made her feel alive. The water about them and between them made friction something far more pleasing that it should've been and they both gasped; Maleficent wondered how much longer they could take it before they either stopped or took it any further.

It was the man-bird the one who slowed down their pace and instead of kissing her, he started to peck her lips.

"I love you, Diaval. I love you enough to let you do as you please, and if you want to stay you can do it…" she whispered against his lips.

"I'm afraid I'll never leave; I'm never letting you go."

Then Maleficent kissed him again and they both succumbed to what they both were craving so, so much. It took them hours to finally get enough of each other and somehow they still wanted more. Maleficent didn't know how they ended back in her home tree but she didn't really care, she was just glad she could rest right there with Diaval, Maleficent knew she would wake up to a brand new day, and all of the grudges she'd been holding were magically forgotten as she drifted happily into sleep in Diaval's arms.

* * *

The next time she saw Aurora, Diaval was sitting with her and she was resting her head on his lap; their hands intertwined. Aurora had a satisfied smile on her face and she went crazy happy when they both told her they were together.

"_I finally have my mate with me" _as Diaval had said.

That same day, Aurora told them she and Philip had set a date and that she wanted the both of them to walk her down the aisle. Maleficent almost cried and they both embraced Aurora in their arms, she was their daughter after all.

After they grew tired of making questions, Aurora began making her own and then Diaval understood what Maleficent meant when she said talking to Aurora was tiring, not because she talked a lot, but because her questions were hard to answer and required a lot of thinking. One in particular was going to give them a headache soon…

"_You make great parents, what do you think about having your own baby?"_

* * *

**Well, wow. I don't know where this came from. I was really sad because I read a fic that broke my heart and my muses abandoned me, but then inspiration *sing along with me* CAME IN LIKE A WRECKING BALL...  
**

**So yes... I wanted angst, fluff, sexy times and fun and this is what I got. I don't know where you are but for me it's 2:38 a.m so if you spot typos, I apologize, my brain is somewhat dying. **

**Ahem: hey I just met you, and this is crazy, but here's my fic, so review, maybe? ;)**


End file.
